Way to keep cat off stovetop?

[camilamilfuegos]

So my cat (9months) Equinox (Nox) and I recently moved into a studio apartment (very very tiny apartment). I've realized there's nothing that can really be mine in a 240 square foot space, but I don't like that he thinks it's okay to get on the stovetop, even after cooking (ie the stove is hot) and I'm scared for him to get burned or something. 

And here's the thing, when he stayed with my parents for two weeks, my mom was confusing and would aggressively go at him with a spray bottle in a confusing manner (spraying at him when he went on the counter, but when he goes on the counter to get to the window ledge it was okay, and when dinner is done, he gets to go on the counter) so now he's clearly scared of the spray bottle. 

What are other methods I can use to get him to leave the stove area alone? 

And also, here are some pictures of him because he's really cute

IMG_4893.JPG

• camilamilfuegos
• Sep 18, 2016

ˆHere he is, napping on my bed

(And yes, that is a Period Table Blanket)

IMG_4885.JPG

• camilamilfuegos
• Sep 18, 2016

 

[red top rescue]

There is a product called Sssscat which is simply compressed air in a can and it's motion activated.  Since you want your cat to never jump on the stove for his own safety, if you put a can of Sssscat on the stove and left it there, he would learn very quickly that he does not want to jump on the stove.  They don't repeat the action frequently.  They learn very fast.  It's startling but doesn't harm them, and much better than him getting burned.  I think you can find it on Amazon and it isn't terribly expensive.  Probably cheaper than a vet visit with a burned cat.  Here is a demo of a cat meeting Sssscat for the first time.

 

[Anne]

I have to say, I'm not too keen on spraying water or using SSScat. It is scary and for some cats can be too scary, stressing them out and causing other behavior problems. I prefer methods that make the countertop feel uncomfortable without the scare. I agree that this is important enough to consider using a "scare" but with some cats, I definitely would try passive deterrents first. 

We have an article on the topic of keeping cats off counters. The general idea is to provide your cat with alternative safe places where he/she can climb and then making the countertops less appealing in a more passive way.
[article="22407"]Get Off How To Discourage Your Cat From Jumping On Counters  [/article]
And yes, please ask your Mom to stop scaring him. He's too cute for that 

 And you're right, she was probably confusing him with this rule of "don't jump unless it's to get to the window ledge". You have to provide a separate route to the window ledge that doesn't take him through where he's not supposed to go.

 

[camilamilfuegos]

@Anne  Thank you for the link to the article! My main concern, however, is the fact that the stovetop produces heat and I worry I'll just end up melting plastic on a good day and starting a fire on a bad day.

I just repurposed a ladder into a cat-tree-condo thing (still needs some finishing touches, but will soon be new post ready), so he has cat friendly climbing spaces, and in fact, I allow him on the kitchen island, and he's allowed to explore the sink, my main goal is to keep him off the stovetop (maybe letting him on the sink right next to the stovetop is confusing as he connects the two?

 

[basscat]

I have a wood stove that's used all winter and have NEVER seen any of our cats on it.  Even during the summer.

Which leads me to believe....It only happens once, and I just wasn't there to see it.

Now that I think about it...The stovetop griddle stays oiled.  I'm constantly wiping paw prints off the sink and the counter, but, have never seen a track on the griddle.

 

[Lyzzie]

What we did with Sparrow was simply put a pan with cold water on the hot stove. He's not jumping directly on the stove because the pan is in the way, and the water quickly cool down once the stove is cold. He actually likes to drink from it now

 

[camilamilfuegos]

@Lyzzie Thank you for that tip! I'll give it a try.

 

[red top rescue]

 
I have to say, I'm not too keen on spraying water or using SSScat. It is scary and for some cats can be too scary, stressing them out and causing other behavior problems. I prefer methods that make the countertop feel uncomfortable without the scare. I agree that this is important enough to consider using a "scare" but with some cats, I definitely would try passive deterrents first. 

We have an article on the topic of keeping cats off counters. The general idea is to provide your cat with alternative safe places where he/she can climb and then making the countertops less appealing in a more passive way.
[article="22407"]Get Off How To Discourage Your Cat From Jumping On Counters  [/article]
And yes, please ask your Mom to stop scaring him. He's too cute for that 

 And you're right, she was probably confusing him with this rule of "don't jump unless it's to get to the window ledge". You have to provide a separate route to the window ledge that doesn't take him through where he's not supposed to go.

In general I agree with you, Anne, try everything else first, but I finally HAD IT with one particular cat.  I know what her problem is, she wants to be an only cat, but she's pretty much unadoptable because of this behavior so we are stuck with this situation.  I don't care if she jumps on counters.  There are many elevated places in the house and she mostly prefers beds.  However, this one likes to pee on elevated empty surfaces -- the stove, the kitchen counter, the washing machine, this table where my computer is, and YES, she finally nailed the laptop when I forgot to close it while making a trip to the bathroom, and that killed it.  (Usually I close the top and put an empty litter box on top as a cover, and she has peed on that.)  So the choices were to make her an outside cat (which she was before being rescued) or get a SSSCAT.  So I got the Ssscat from Chewy.com (about $20) and placed it on the kitchen counter where she has been active frequently.  It's so sensitive that it sprayed me a couple of times when I just walked by.  I turn it off when I'm around, but at night when I go to bed, I turn it on.  So far, so good.  She doesn't seem the least bit traumatized.  I never saw it spray her, but there is no pee puddle on my counter for the first time in a week.  (BTW her urine pH is just fine, I test every puddle that shows up anywhere in the house).  This cat is the FLUTD cat I rescued from the euth list, eats a perfect low carb diet, and has had no urinary problems for a year. One of these days I will take all the pots off the stove and put them on the counter and leave the Ssscat on the stove for a few nights.  Then I will leave it on this table once in awhile.   Being random  I think that will retrain her.  When all else fails, I DO recommend Ssscat.

 

[Java Lady]

We have an electric stove with 2 counters beside it, first he would jump on to counters then walk across stove to other counter we tried to put crinkle paper with spices but did not faze him , taking him off saying no is slowly working he can jump from floor un to stove , knobs are at back of stove , will try foil he I had some foil on floor and he played with it , I am thinking a can with coind n ins n iy

 

[Java Lady]

We have an electric stove with 2 counters beside it, first he would jump on to counters then walk across stove to other counter we tried to put crinkle paper with spices but did not faze him , taking him off saying no is slowly working he can jump from floor un to stove , knobs are at back of stove , will try foil he I had some foil on floor and he played with it , I am thinking a can with coins in to help

 

[Kflowers]

As a matter of safety even with an electric stove, I would remove the knobs that turn the units and the oven on whenever I left the house and before going to bed. This is just to be certain. I always did it with the gas stove, and now I've read that some manage to turn the electric stove on as well. Do not be fooled with the "your cat can't turn the stove on, you have to push the knob in and then turn it, they can't do that." Apparently, they can.

 

[kittendad10]

As a matter of safety even with an electric stove, I would remove the knobs that turn the units and the oven on whenever I left the house and before going to bed. This is just to be certain. I always did it with the gas stove, and now I've read that some manage to turn the electric stove on as well. Do not be fooled with the "your cat can't turn the stove on, you have to push the knob in and then turn it, they can't do that." Apparently, they can.

I am now leaving this thread more anxious than I was arriving!


In general, we massively have this issue - they even started wiggling their bums like a pre-pounce at the flames recently like it was a toy. One cat responds to no, and now whenever I get up he will get down, but it wouldn't stop him when I'm not there. We've got a large chopping board which we put on the stove top (it's gas so has the grid on top) incase they hop on...

 

[Kflowers]

We live to serve.

You should take the handles off the gas grill too. Put the knives in a drawer that locks. No, it doesn't get better as they age, this is for life. You'll get used to it, do it without thinking.